Crews en route as ‘trees, limbs, mud’ cover South Surrey train tracks

A mudslide on BNSF tracks north of White Rock has resulted in a 48-hour suspension to passenger-train service between Bellingham and Vancouver.

BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas told Peace Arch News just before 1 p.m. Friday that the slide occurred at noon, “two miles north of White Rock,” and that crews and equipment are en route from Bellingham and B.C.

The slide is “roughly 60 feet wide and 10 feet deep,” he said.

“It’s trees, limbs, rocks, mud on the track.”

Freight trains are expected to resume service “later this evening” after the debris is removed and a slope assessment is completed, Melonas added.

“It appears as if the slope is solid and there’s no more debris coming down.”